148 THE FLOEAL WORLD AND GAKDEN GUIDE. 



In the spring following, the plants which have survived the winter 

 should he turned out of the pots, the balls cleared of worms, and 

 repotted into fresh soil ; they should also be shortened in, so as to 

 make them bushy. In the month of May or Juue they may be 

 planted out in the flower beds, and as they increase in size they may 

 be pegged down in a horizontal position on the surface of the soil, 

 in the same way as Verbenas generally are. 



Fuchsias. — The same instructions that are given for the Heliotrope 

 are also applicable to the Fuchsia ; but the best shoots of which to 

 make cuttings are those which issue from the main stem, and which 

 are of a short stubby character. These may be taken off either with 

 a heel or cut close off with a sharp knife. The cuttings should be 

 planted in a light sandy soil, and after being about a fortnight in the 

 frame they will be sufficiently rooted to be replanted into single pots ; 

 when they have filled the pots they must be moved into those of a 

 size larger. But the best season for propagating the Fuchsia is in 

 the spring, when it is desired to grow handsome plants in pots, for 

 the drawing-room or balcony. The mode of procedure is as follows : 

 when the bed is first formed, let some of the old plants which have 

 been taken from the borders in the previous autumn be placed inside 

 the frame ; in the course of a little while they will begin to throw 

 out young shoots, many of which in the first instance will be long 

 and weak ; the shortest and stoutest must therefore be chosen and. 

 made into cuttings, which should then be planted in a cutting-pot in 

 the usual way. When the cuttings are rooted they should be 

 replanted singly into small pots, filled with a compost of turfy loam, 

 leaf-mould, sand, and a little charcoal, and return them again to the 

 frame. They will now begin to grow very rapidly, and the great 

 object to be attended to is, to see that they receive no check, but are 

 kept in a constant state of growth. For this end they must not be 

 allowed to become pot-bound, as gardeners call it, that is, the roots 

 must not entirely fill the pot ; but whenever they have nearly filled 

 it, the plant must be removed into one a size larger. As the plants 

 increase in size, and after they have received two or three shifts, the 

 soil into which they are removed should have the addition of some 

 very old and well-fermented cow-dung mixed with it. This will en- 

 courage them in a free growth, and they will soon become large and 

 handsome plants, the size being regulated by the size of the pots into 

 which they are finally planted : such is the mode of spring raising. 

 But the plants so obtained are not so good for planting out in the 

 open air as those are which are propagated in the autumn; as they 

 are from being so quickly grown, so much more brittle and tender. 



Pelargoniums. — The best time to propagate Pelargoniums is just 

 after or about the time they finish blooming, which will be towards 

 the end of July and beginning of August. The shoots which 

 should be selected for this purpose are those which have not pro- 

 duced a flower, and which are the short, lateral productions of 

 the stronger stems. When they are separated from the stock plant, 

 they should either be slipped off with heels to them, or cut clean 

 off at a joint with a sharp knife. To prepare them for potting, the 

 two or three lower leaves must be removed by cutting them off close 



